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Friday, 12 July 2013

Skoleboller - coconut and custard buns from Norway

There are so many reasons why those are one of the most delicious buns I have ever had… light and soft dough, creamy vanilla custard, sweet icing, desiccated coconut and a hint of cardamom- yum!

Skoleboller are popular as school buns in Norway and Sweden- hopefully they will become one of your favourites too!

To make your job easier, you can prepare the dough and custard the day before and leave it in the fridge over night, to enjoy fresh buns in the morning.

Recipe comes from Scandilicious Baking by Signe Johansen.

Ingredients (makes about 16):For the buns:

325ml milk

50g butter, melted

500g plain flour

75g caster sugar

1,5 tsp ground cardamom (or seeds from 2-3 cardamom pods)

1/2 tsp salt

7g dried yeast

1 egg, lightly beaten

For the custard:

4 egg yolks

40g corn flour

500ml milk

75g caster sugar

1tsp vanilla paste or extract

For the icing:

1,5 cup icing sugar

2tbsp boiling water

Additionally:

desiccated coconut

To make the dough, gently warm the milk in a small sauce pan, add the butter, sugar and an egg and mix until combined.

Mix the flour with yeast, salt and cardamom, then add the milk and butter mixture. The milk should not be hot (only slightly warm) as it can kill the yeast and the buns will not rise. Mix until smooth.

Knead the dough for about 10 minutes, until soft, smooth and stretchy. You can add a little flour if the dough is to sticky, no more than 2-3 tablespoons. Shape into a ball and leave in a warm place to rise, for about an hour, until doubled in size. You can place in a bowl, cover with foil and leave in the fridge over night instead. The dough will be ready in the morning.

To make the custard, place 400ml of milk and half of the sugar in a saucepan on a moderate heat.

Beat egg yolks with the remaining sugar until pale and fluffy. Add corn flour and remaining milk and mix until combined.

Add to the sauce pan when the milk is hot and mix constantly, continue cooking until the mixture is thick and smooth. Add the vanilla. Leave to cool, then place in the fridge.

When the dough has risen, knead quickly and divide into 16 equal portions, about 60g each.

Shape into balls and place on a lined baking sheet, for about 30 minutes, until doubled in size.

Using a small glass or a cup press the middle of each bun, to make space for the custard. Do not make a whole in a bun, but press firmly, almost right to the baking sheet, so that the dough is thin in the middle.

Divide the custard between the buns and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 C for about 20 minutes, until golden brown. Take out the oven and leave to cool.

To make the icing mix icing sugar with hot water and brush over each bun (do not brush the top of the custard), sprinkle with desiccated coconut.